The latest releases reviewed
Stan Tracey Stan Tracey Orchestra at the Appleby Jazz Festival ReSteamed ***
A big band packed with some of the outstanding figures of British jazz, caught live in 2004 and last year, exuberantly responds to Tracey's excellent writing. Unsurprisingly, Epistrophy, Well You Needn't and 'Round Midnight give it a Monk flavour; there are also charts of Ellington's Festival Junction and Strayhorn's Passion Flower, though the most overtly Ellingtonian scoring is on Tracey's blues, Feather, Fin and Limb.
Inevitably, ensembles are a bit rough, but, sparked by Clark Tracey, the band has a relaxed feel on both dates, with the earlier one perhaps slightly the better of the two.
Fine solos from Guy Barker, Henry Lowther, Mark Nightingale and a stellar reed section that includes Pete King, Andy Panayi, Simon Allen, Mornington Lockett and Alan Barnes also distinguish what must have been a joyous occasion. www.resteamed.com Ray Comiskey
Dewey Redman The Struggle Continues ECM ***
First time on CD for this long out of print 1982 date that finds the late, great Texas tenor in fine form, leading a quartet with Charles Eubanks (piano), Mark Helias (bass) and the late Ed Blackwell (drums).
The years have been good to this essentially blowing session, mainly because of Redman's sheer, all-enveloping warmth and authority, and the richness of his imagination.
It's also more conventional than might be expected; he ventures a bit out of the paddock in a marvellously fresh solo on the uptempo Thren, and while Combinations is an example of the band playing free, there's a sense of discipline and focus to their work.
Otherwise, it's clearly bop-derived, but not slavishly so, even on the Bird tune, Dewey Square. And with Blackwell stoking the fires, the band has a vibrant, take-no-prisoners air. www.musicconnection.org.uk Ray Comiskey
Roy Powell Rendezvous Nagel Heyer ***
Powell is a gifted pianist and composer who has made some hugely impressive recordings both inside and outside the tent, metaphorically speaking, though in neither case was he guilty of anti-social behaviour.
This trio session, made at Ronnie Scott's with Terje Gewelt (bass) and Andreas Bye (drums), is a straight-ahead romp in which he seems to have had a ball. Certainly, the trio grooves impressively over a programme of his originals, plus one standard and Miles Davis's Solar.
He digs a little deeper on Nymphs and the title track, but mostly he's content with a laid-back, swinging approach, even if two-handed unison figures tend to turn up frequently.
The live recording lacks a little presence and the bass is a bit back in the mix, but otherwise it's an enjoyable date without rising to any great heights. www.roypowell.net Ray Comiskey
